


Welcome Home, Ace

by Rollo



Category: One Piece
Genre: Dressrosa Arc, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-04
Updated: 2013-12-04
Packaged: 2018-01-03 12:17:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1070376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rollo/pseuds/Rollo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The (ex) Whitebeard Pirates caught wind that Ace's Devil fruit had resurfaced after two years of being missing, now they're on a mission to bring their fellow comrade and brother home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome Home, Ace

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on a Tumblr post I saw in the Portgas D. Ace tag...Indeed, this work is dedicated to a good friends and fellow roleplayers in the OP fandom. Enjoy

There had been discussion and arguments; yelling and roars….Among the ~~(ex)~~ Whitebeard Pirates, someone had brought alarming news. Ace’s Devil fruit had resurfaced two years after his death, and the even more alarming news was, it was in a shichibukai’s hands…Not just any of the warlords but rather, Doflamingo Donquixote. Panic arose amongst the crew, chatter, discussions and even anger. Anger not only towards the warlord but the crew themselves for not having found it earlier.

Murmuring, chattering, yelling, screaming, roaring, violence. Fingers pointed, insults shouted; the crew was still dishevelled and on the road to recovery after having lost brothers and their father to the war two years past. Two years seemed long but in the eyes of the crew, two years was not long enough to recover from such a deep wound.

Marco sat to the side, staring out into the distance. He wasn’t in the mood to argue or fight, rather, people might say, he was hurt the most from the war and the events leading to it. First it started with the loss of Thatch…Then Ace had gone off to find Blackbeard, only to end up dead by the hands of Akainu. Whitebeard died in the process of that war and there was large loss of brothers and comrades. He tuned out the sounds of the crew’s rowdiness and drifted into his own world. It was until a loud crash and a roar that startled him out of his reverie.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY!?” someone asked.

“YOU FUCKING HEARD ME!” another responded. In the center stood several crew mates, everyone now divided amongst their old divisions. A fight, the first physical fight in 2 years after months of moping and lamenting, was about to break out. Jeers and insults were thrown, then the first punch; for the first time in months, Marco saw the dishevelled crew, the order that was once there was no longer there. He wasn’t the only one affected, everyone was…

He rose from his spot, and eyed the crowd. “ENOUGH!!!” he roared, the sudden sound of his voice rang through the whole crew and everyone froze. Eyes turned to him, Marco…The gentle and brotherly Marco…the one that didn’t speak or spoke little since the end of war, was….yelling?

“Look at all of you…Look at this,” Marco gestured, “What have we turned in to? Is this what Pops would have wanted? This mess of a crew? His sons pointing fingers and making jabs when everyone was at fault? When everyone did their best?” Marco eyed the crowd. The two fighting dropped their fists and hung their head in shame, realizing what they were doing….Everyone dropped their head and murmured in acceptance of what Marco had said.

“Instead of fighting over the things we couldn’t have done…” Marco made a pointed stare at the pair that was fighting, “We should be figuring out what to do. Ace’s Devil fruit resurfaced and we know where it is…We need to retrieve it…Ace needs to come home…Home to his family,” Marco said. An agreement went through the crowd, “Let us focus on bringing home our brother then we can focus on beating the shit out of each other,” he said.

Marco realized that the crew needed someone to guide them, someone to give them the strength to continue. It was an unspoken agreement after Marineford that they all wanted to stick together but they didn’t have a captain. None of the division captains took the helm and even some hinted that Marco should but Marco was too lost in his own mourning he ignored it. Now…Now was the time he stepped up and do what he refused to do.

“We need a plan, Dressrosa a dangerous place right now…With Doflamingo there and being his domain, facing him would be an unwise idea.” Marco said. He saw that the energy he used to see was slowly returning, he needed the return of the energy; he needed things to be restored as they were. “Is there any other information about this?” he asked. There was a murmur of there wasn’t enough information about it just yet, only that the fruit was in Doflamingo’s possessions.

“Okay…We should make our way to Dressrosa despite so…Maybe we’ll know more if we do so,” Marco said, pondering the next actions. “Set course for Dressrosa.” He ordered, this would be the first order he gives in the years to come as captain. This journey will be the first he ever directed that wasn’t his division. Everyone scrambled to do as they were told to, preparing for to sail.

“Good to have you back, Marco,” Izo patted Marco’s shoulder as he passed the first division captain. There was a chorus of “welcome back” from the division leaders as they left to help their men.

* * *

 

When the crew neared their destination, someone rushed up to Marco, “T-There was a broadcast that came out!” they said, panting.

“Calm down, what is it about?” Marco asked.

“They….They unveiled the fruit and said it was to be the prize….They’re having a coliseum fight over the fruit," they informed Marco.

“….Doflamingo….” Marco scowled.

“A-And that’s not it….People are saying that…it was to draw out the Strawhats,” they continued.

“Ace’s little brother?” Marco repeated in surprise.

“They’ve already been spotted docking nearby Dresrossa,”

“So, we’re not the only ones intent on getting it….I’m sure Luffy wants to make sure Ace is remembered and no one gets the fruit but we want to bring him _home_ , to us.” Marco said. “Set full speed, we have to get the fruit back no matter what,” he said.

“Yes sir!” the person scrambled off to do as said.

Despite having set sailed at full speed, they arrived a bit later than they wanted. The coliseum fight had already began, joining it was not an option. The crew needed another approach and they needed more information on where it was kept. They were on edge, unsure who was winning and who the fruit would fall to.

“Our option now is to either take it by force during the fight or ambush the winner and taking it,” someone brought up, “But the problem with the ambush is, the possibility of it being consumed during the fight comes up, however…Killing them does have the fruit reform….”

“No, let’s avoid that, this is Dressrosa, not the sea,” Marco said. It was until a day or so later that the news came in on where the fruit was.

“It’s displayed in the coliseum,” the person informed the crew, “Problem is, it’s sectioned off and placed near the fighting ring and audiences are not allowed into that section,” they continued, “So either, you force your way in and fight the guards, which will cause a lot of trouble and attention,” they paused.

“Or do it aerially….Sounds strange, but it causes the commotion but less likely to have to fight since no one can be airborne, however it is said that there is one contestant to be weary of,” another continued on from the pause. “Bellamy the Hyena retains the _Bane Bane no Mi_ , that jumping power can gain quite the height,” they finished.

“Aerially or not, this is also a moment to remind the people that the Whitebeard Pirates are still alive and kicking, there is no way we’re giving up the Pirate King title…Pops would have wanted us to continue,” the first started again. Marco pondered the options, fight or do it by air, which one would be faster? More efficient?

However, within the crew, only he could be airborne due to his Zoan abilities. He pondered all aspects of how things could go down before responding. “I’ll do it…” he said.

“What?” Izo asked, frowning.

“I’ll get the fruit,” Marco repeated.

“You must be crazy! The aerial idea was a joke,” Izo responded.

“Where is the fruit displayed?” Marco asked.

“High up?” the person responded, “There’s stairs up to the place but it’s out in the open and guarded,”

“I can do it. Fighting on stairs is not optimum…I think I can take on a guard or few,” Marco stood. No one could argue with Marco, the male was right. Taking the fruit by flight was the easiest and the best escape route since no one could follow; Marco was also capable of taking on several opponents at once. The division leaders contemplated the decision before finally giving their approvals.

“But if you need help, ask. Because I swear to God, Marco, I will hurt you even more when you come back,”

“I got it,” Marco chuckled, standing up. “Let’s do this…We’re bringing Ace home,” he called. A cheer went through the crowd. Marco climbed onto the railing of the ship and jumped, shifting to his phoenix form before he hit the water. It had been a while since he had taken his bird form and he had to be honest, the breeze felt good…Familiar and relaxing. He glided through the air, towards his target.

It wasn’t long until the coliseum came to view, he was careful not so show himself until he spotted the fruit. Taking a dive towards the podium, a gasp went through the crowds when they saw a sudden flash of blue and a shift between human and bird. The minute Marco’s feet touched ground, a fight ensued.

Ducking fists and blades, Marco fought back skillfully, focused on the box containing the fruit that used to belong to a close friend, his brother. The fight didn’t take long, much rather, Marco had overpowered them by skills.

He trudged over to the box, opening it to ensure it contained what he was looking for. He was greeted with the familiar sight of the red fruit. “You’re finally coming home, Ace,” he murmured, shutting the box. He heard noise from the stairs and saw the appearance of more guards. “I’ll be taking this, thank you,” he said, phasing in to his phoenix form and grasping the box in his talons.

He was up in the air and out of the coliseum, ready to head back to Moby Dick II. He eyed the ground below wearily, watching out for the male that his crew warned him of, however, there seemed to be no problems, all he could see was the amazed and confused looks of people’s faces as he flew off. _'I’m sorry, Luffy, but Ace would be safer with us…He belongs with the Whitebeard Crew…He was a brother to us as much as he was to you.'_   he thought to himself.

When he touched down on the ship, silence fell as the box was opened to reveal the fruit. There was a moment of silence the crew once again paid their respects for Ace, sniffling and crying was heard. Marco had shifted back and was about to say something when the crew, almost simultaneously, yelled, “WELCOME HOME, ACE!!”

Marco was startled by the sudden loudness but he could only smile…He glanced at the box, “It’s good to have you back, Fire fist,” he murmured, patting the fruit.


End file.
